Raden Ryū Wakizashi (螺鈿龍) – Mother-of-Pearl Dragon

Raden Ryū (螺鈿龍): the mother-of-pearl dragon

Raden is the Japanese art of inlaying mother-of-pearl into lacquer. These cut and polished shell fragments catch the light and shift in colour depending on the angle. Practised since the Nara period, raden has long adorned the most precious of objects.

This wakizashi places it at the very heart of its saya: a dragon and clouds in mother-of-pearl, heightened with gold, set against a deep black lacquer ground. The tsuba, where the dragon moves through clouds and waves, extends this same theme.

A damascus steel blade with bo-hi

The blade is crafted in damascus steel, formed by layering and folding multiple layers of steel. The damascus pattern, alternating light and dark grey, is visible along the full length of the blade, brought out by a satin polish.

It features a shinogi-zukuri geometry with a chū-kissaki point, and is cut with a bo-hi. There is no hamon.

A bronze mounting with dragon among the waves

The round (maru-gata) tsuba in patinated bronze alloy is deeply openwork (sukashi), depicting a dragon among clouds and waves in relief (takabori), with two hitsu-ana openings and a rounded rim encircled by a gilded ring in the manner of a fukurin. A gilded brass seppa accompanies it.

The fuchi and kashira in bronzed alloy are finely chiselled with floral and foliage motifs. The handle combines wood with faux black ray skin, beneath a midnight-blue tsuka-ito wrapping in hineri-maki, with patinated copper menuki. The ichimai habaki in gilded copper depicts in relief the ocean, the rising sun and seabirds.

A black saya with mother-of-pearl dragon

The saya is crafted in solid wood, finished in a high-gloss black roiro-nuri lacquer, adorned with a dragon and clouds in mother-of-pearl inlay in the raden tradition, with gilded highlights. The koiguchi and kojiri are lacquered black in keeping with the scabbard. The black lacquered kurikata with gilded shitodome holds a midnight-blue sageo.

Dimensions and handling of the wakizashi

With a blade of 51 cm and an overall length of 78 cm, the Raden Ryū carries the proportions of a wakizashi, the shorter companion to the katana. Its 23 cm handle offers a comfortable one-handed grip, with room for the second hand in support. At 1 kg, it remains agile and responsive. It measures 80 cm in its saya, an ideal format for displaying its lustrous, shifting mother-of-pearl reflections.